Educational Researchers:

• American Educational Research Association
  • "The American Educational Research Association is concerned with improving the educational process by encouraging scholarly inquiry related to education and by promoting the dissemination and practical application of research results."
• Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
  • "The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation supports research, publications, and action projects of national significance in elementary/secondary education reform, as well as significant education reform projects in Dayton, Ohio and vicinity. It has assumed the work of the Educational Excellence Network and is affiliated with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. (The Foundation is neither connected with nor sponsored by Fordham University.)"
• Wisconsin Center for Education Research, part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Education, "is committed to research that holds promise for improving the quality of education for all children. To achieve its goals, the center brings together five previously separate and distinct lines of scholarly inquiry, those of research into teaching, learning, curriculum, assessment, and leadership and other organizational issues."

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Educational Cooperatives:

• Kentucky PRISM (Partnership for Reform Initiatives in Science and Mathematics)
  • PRISM is "a cooperative effort of the Kentucky Science and Technology Council, Inc. and the Kentucky Department of Education."
• Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI)
  • ARSI is "a collaborative effort among six states in Central Appalachia - Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia," that plans to "stimulate sustainable systemic improvements in science, mathematics, and technology education for K-14 students in its 66 eligible counties, using the school and its surrounding community as the focus of its efforts."
• Central Kentucky's Educational Cooperatives, Districts, Regional Laboratories, Information Resources
• Kentucky's Education Cooperatives
• Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative

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Educational Associations:

• Kentucky Alliance for Arts Education
• Kentucky Association for Psychology in the Schools
• Kentucky Association for School Health
• Kentucky Association of School Administrators
• Kentucky Coalition of School Volunteer Organizations
• Kentucky Dept. of Education
• Kentucky Education Association
• Kentucky High School Athletic Association
• Kentucky High School Journalism Association
• Kentucky Middle School Association
• Kentucky Music Educators Association
• Kentucky PTA (National PTA)
• Kentucky School Boards Association
• Kentucky School Media Association
• Kentucky School Plant Management Association
• Kentucky School Public Relations Association
• Kentucky Science Teachers Association
• National Education Association
• National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education

Regional Educational Laboratories:

• Appalachia Educational Laboratory, Inc. (AEL) -- serves KY, TN, VA, WV
• Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University (LAB) -- serves CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, PR, RI, VI, VT
• Mid-Atlantic Laboratory for Student Success (LSS) -- serves DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA
• Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) -- serves CO, KS, MO, NE, ND, SD, WY
• North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) -- serves IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI
• Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) -- serves AK, ID, MT, OR, WA
  • Although not KERA-related, the Catalog of School Reform Models: First Edition is an interesting publication "developed by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in collaboration with the Education Committee of the States (ECS) at the request of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). It is part of ED's effort to provide information to schools, school districts, states, and others as they plan and implement comprehensive school reform programs."
• SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE)
  • SERVE serves AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC
• Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)
  • SEDL serves AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
• WestEd
  • WestEd serves AZ, CA, NV, UT

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Organizations :

• Center for Education Reform
  • A "national, non-profit education advocacy group and an active broker in providing resources, support and guidance for school reform to communities across the United States."
• Council of Chief State School Officers  
  • A "nationwide, nonprofit organization composed of public officials who lead the departments responsible for elementary and secondary education in the states, the US extra-state jurisdictions, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity."
• Kentucky Council on Economic Education
  • A "not-for-profit organization supported by the business and education communities. The organization is dedicated to promoting economic literacy by providing quality economics education training for teachers and proven programs for all grade levels, K-12."
• Partnership for Kentucky Schools
  • "The Partnership set out in 1991 to make the dream of education improvement in Kentucky a reality through the successful implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). That task having been accomplished, now the Partnership is an organization of Kentucky business leaders dedicated to the continuous improvement of Kentucky schools."
• Technology The Web Portal for Educators 
  • A listing of various organizations dedicated to education reform.

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Technology:

• Coalition of Essential Schools
  • "CES is a growing national network of over 1,000 schools and 24 regional support centers. We have evolved from a centrally-run organization to a decentralized network of regional centers that provide technical assistance and personalized support to schools."
• Reinventing Schools: The Technology Is Now
  • An offering from the National Academy of Sciences, provides information under headings such as "The Nintendo Generation," "Systemic Reform," "Investing in Teachers," and "The Role of Government." If you have multimedia computer equipment, the site offers a plethora of interesting material.
• Trends in Education Reform at EdWeb  
  • "Outlines some of the major issues in school reform in the hopes of creating a better understanding of the connection between technology and educational change."

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Research Tools :

• Although the Education Commission of the States appears to offer no documents focused exclusively on Kentucky education reform, you can perform a search for "Kentucky" that will bring back pertinent information.
• ERIC Database  
  • "The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, produces the world’s premier database of journal and non-journal education literature."
• Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
  • "ENC's mission is to identify effective curriculum resources, create high-quality professional development materials, and disseminate useful information and products to improve K-12 mathematics and science teaching and learning."
• Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation
  • "An online journal... [that] provide[s] education professionals access to refereed articles that can have a positive impact on assessment, research, evaluation, and teaching practice, especially at the local education agency (LEA) level."

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Training:

• Latin and the 75 Academic Expectations of the Kentucky Education Reform Act  
  • A "guide to sample activities" from the Kentucky Classics page of the University of Kentucky, produced by the Classical Languages and Literature department.

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General:

• Finance Project and Harvard Family Research Project feature a document entitled:
  • The Finance Project: State Investments in Education and Other Children's Services, Case Studies of Financing Innovations, which provides a brief overview of KERA
• Critical Thinking Community  
  • Will surely interest many people. The Community desires to "promote essential change in education and society through the cultivation of fair-minded critical thinking," presumably a goal shared by KERA.
• Institute on Education Reform at the University of Kentucky
  • UKERA-L discussion list: To subscribe, send a message to listserv@lsv.uky.edu. In the body of the message, type "sub UKERA-L your name, your school/agency."
  • To reach a human administrator, send mail to ukera-l-request@lsv.uky.edu.

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